PHILIPSBURG:--- The Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment, and Infrastructure(VROMI), Patrice Gumbs, issued a statement regarding the discussion around the road fund.
Minister Patrice Gumbs acknowledged that additional work on the legal structure (Road Fund) was still needed, as confirmed during Wednesday's Council of Ministers Press Briefing, and the aim is to have this finalized and fully implemented in 2028. This will allow the total amount collected in road tax to finally be allocated towards the islands' infrastructure. This comes following the response of August 2026 from the Council of Advice, the final legal review authority before a budget goes to Parliament, on the proposed implementation plan submitted by the Ministry earlier this year. Gumbs stated that the Council of Ministers had decided to allocate all road tax to roads.
The Ministry of Finance later communicated that the decision to allocate all road tax collected to the roads was not taken up, and a second decision was made to allocate all road tax funds to the roads. It was later communicated that any changes would delay the 2027 budget and that the remaining road tax funds were allocated elsewhere in the budget.
The Minister of VROMI confirmed that a compromise was reached to increase the amount going towards roads in 2027 without requiring other ministries to cut their own budgets. The compromise also included assurance that, as of 2028, the entirety of the road tax would go towards roads. For the 2027 budget, VROMI will receive XCG 5 million once Parliament passes the budget, with the line item unrevised during the approval process (budget debate).
The Minister of VROMI said the population continues to pay road tax, but the allocated amount has steadily decreased since 2010. The audit chamber flagged this lack of direct allocation as contrary to existing law. Gumbs said that whether a legal road fund exists is not a reason not to allocate all road tax to roads. “People pay this tax in good faith that it is being applied to the roads, and their mounting frustration is understandable when it is not. I must advocate for rectifying something left unfinished since its inception”, Gumbs stated.
"I do understand that my colleague, the Minister of Finance, is ultimately responsible for balancing a budget and its priorities, which is no easy feat. As a coalition member, we will continue to work together to find solutions or compromises like the aforementioned for the greater good. This is what I meant by the full implementation of the road fund, not that the Ministry of Finance itself delayed its legal implementation. Any insinuation of such was therefore not intended." Gumbs finished.
Budget 2027 is scheduled to be debated in Parliament the first week of November.
